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10 Isle Of Wight Gardens And Parks (2022 Guide)

Now that I've got my own garden I rather wish I'd paid more attention when my father was trying to teach me the difference between a clematis and a chrysanthemum.

My knowledge is pretty basic, but I can still admire a colourful peony or a neatly trimmed bush (you can write your own gags for this one).

Here are 10 Isle of Wight gardens and parks worth a visit:

1. Ventnor Park (free)

Ventnor Park is free, so it's certainly worth a quick visit if you are passing. Besides the flowers, there are palm trees and slightly random caged birds. It's also home to the bandstand which once stood on Ventnor Pier. Towards the cliff at the edge of the park you'll find an outdoor gym so you can beef up and then enjoy a pleasant stroll along the cliff path whilst dreaming about how awesome you would look at a Mr Universe competition covered in baby oil.

Read our blog about Ventnor Park

Ventnor Park in, er, Ventnor

2. Rylstone Gardens, Shanklin (free)

Council-run Rylstone Gardens is one of the nicest public parks on the Island. On a summer's day you can listen to brass bands parping away whilst golf balls plop into holes at the park's minigolf course (fun fact: the minigolf course starred in a David Essex/Ringo Starr film called 'That'll Be The Day')

There's also a café. I would tell you about the different varieties of plant but I was too busy stuffing my face with lemon drizzle cake and lattes.

Read our blog about Rylstone Gardens. Big Mead is also in Shanklin, but it's a more standard green space with a playground and duck pond.

Setting up the deckchairs for a brass band in Rylstone Gardens

3. Ventnor Botanic Garden

You won't read an article about Ventnor Botanic Garden without the phrase 'unique microclimate'. It's the sort of place that features on Countryfile with grinning presenters hugging a palm tree and saying things like "you probably think I'm in the Mediterranean - well, you're wrong!".

The general idea is that the site is sheltered and sunny enough to be able to grow lots of plants which wouldn't survive in the rest of the UK.

There's also a nice restaurant with a balcony. Check out the video of the woman walking through a pond with a sieve. Hopefully she didn't borrow it from the kitchen.

There's also a 350 foot tunnel which links the gardens with the coast. The website warns that you should keep away or you'll face instant death from above, but there are guided tours if you fancy it.

It costs about £5-£10 to visit.

4. Mottistone Manor Gardens (free to National Trust Members)

Mottistone Manor is closed to the public but the gardens are looked after by the National Trust and are open most days (though not every day). The gardens and veg patches are as immaculate and well organised as a Sergeant Major's sock drawer so there's a risk you will come away feeling guilty that your lawn is covered in weeds. There's a flowerpot trail thingy for children, which kept ours entertained for an hour.

Benedict Cumberbatch was married in the church over the road and his in-laws hosted the reception in the Manor House. Please avoid trying to peek into the kitchen whilst pretending you are looking at the plants.

Please do not steal the flowers

5. Osborne House (free to English Heritage members)

Osborne House - or 'The Queen Vic' as it isn't known by locals - has suitably splendid gardens. There are trees planted by Prince Albert although I suspect he had some help and just did the easy bit at the end where you squash the soil. There's also a walled garden with fruit trees and terrace gardens.

There's a useful guide to the different seasons at Osborne on the English Heritage website, which is worth a read if your main reason for visiting is the gardens. There's a section called 'historic fruit and vegetables' which also describes the contents of my fridge when I was a student.

The Swiss Cottage has vegetable patches for the royal children

6. Carisbrooke Castle (Princess Beatrice Gardens) (free to English Heritage members)

If you fancy a nice free walk with views over Carisbrooke and Bowcombe then you can wander round the dry moat at Carisbrooke Castle. Inside the Castle is the Princess Beatrice garden which opened in 2009. It's not huge, but it's certainly worth visiting if you are looking round the Castle anyway or if you have English Heritage membership.

The entrance to Carisbrooke Castle

7. Carisbrooke Priory (free)

Carisbrooke Priory's gardens are not especially la-di-da or full of exotic plants but they are free and historic. The Priory was a nunnery until the early 90s when a group of Christians (including my father) turned it into an open door which welcomes visitors of any faith, or none. There are fruit trees in the large garden, a courtyard garden and a side garden which was overgrown and hidden for several years. The gardens also house a small graveyard for the nuns who lived on site. The house is worth a nosey too.

I visited Carisbrooke Priory's gardens but I was nun the wiser. Ha!

8. Robin Hill

A few years ago Robin Hill started investing in its gardens, including a big Japanese themed section in the woods. It is mostly aimed at families with lots of children's playgrounds and the like so perhaps not worth the full entrance cost just to see the plants and woods.

However, if you are accompanying younger visitors then it is a far more pleasant experience than one of those theme parks which is just a series of giant warehouses with flashing rides.

It costs about £20.

Robin Hill's gardens include the world's largest tree sculpture. Well why not?

9. Nunwell House and Gardens

Nunwell House is only open a couple of days of week and is closed in winter, so check the website before turning up with a coachload of eager horticulturalists or you might have a mutiny on your hands.

It's a 16th century privately owned house with five acres of land, 'including an 18th century walled garden, lavender steps and mature borders.'

It costs about £5-£8

10. Appuldurcombe House (free)

Appuldurcombe House, nearish to Ventnor, is looked after by English Heritage, with gardens designed by 'Capability' Brown. It looks rather grand from the outside, but inside it is a ruin. I mean that in a literal sense, rather than meaning it's a bit tatty.

At the time of writing it is free to visit. We greatly enjoyed our wander round the ruins with the children.

Is it me, or did 'Capability' Brown design every stately home's garden?

11. Ever Garden

Ever Garden opened in 2021 in the West Wight village of Brighstone. It's an 18th century cottage with a garden full of sculptures and plants.

It's certainly not on the scale as the National Trust's Mottistone Manor or English Heritage's Osborne House, but it has an 'eclectic mix of art and artefacts'. I've not been yet but early reviews are very positive.

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